The collection of merchants occupied the lower half of Charlotte Street, while downtown merchants hosted their annual Action Week sidewalk sale at the other end.

"It is kind of a new initiative we hope to see grow over the rest of the year and next year the whole Charlotte Street will be blocked," said Jenni Welsh, the chair of events for the Pride Cape Breton Festival.

"It's kind of like a baby step towards something that will be a more permanent fixture in the community."

Rainbow market vendors ranged from the Taste Bros. hot sauce company, to caricature artists. Crafts and music were also readily available.

"I'm not surprised at the size, but I'm surprised by the amount of traffic it has drawn to this end of Charlotte Street, which is really awesome. I think people are just really excited to be out and downtown and sharing that kind of excitement together."

Welsh was also pleased to see collaboration from organizations like Fortress Louisbourg, Celtic Colours, the Caper Radio, the AIDS Coalition and others.

"Seeing all these great organizations come together and share in the same day is nice."

Participating vendors and organizations came to the market after filling out online applications after the festival issued a request for proposals.

Welsh said everyone seems happy how it turned out.

"It's a brand new initiate we are trying out this year," she said. "We are hoping it is something that will exist on its own as an entity outside of the pride festival. During the festival it will be a kind of be a big staple. It's a nice way to kick off the week."